Emerging Technology : [TR10: Neuron Control]

Karl Deisseroth's genetically engineered "light switch," which lets scientists turn selected parts of the brain on and off, may help improve treatments for depression and other disorders. http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=specialsections&sc=emerging&id=18289

 The technology could one day lead to precisely targeted treatments for psychiatric and neurological dis­orders.

Deisseroth is using this genetic light switch to study the biological basis of depression. Working with a group of rats that show symptoms similar to those seen in depressed humans, researchers in his lab have inserted the switch into neurons in different brain areas implicated in depression. . Deisseroth says the findings should help scientists develop better anti­depressantsDeisseroth hopes his technology will one day become not just a research tool but a treatment in itself, used alongside therapies that electrically stimulate large areas of the brain to treat depression or Parkinson's disease. By activating only specific neurons, a specially engineered light switch could limit those therapies' side effects.